The Darkness
by georgiecullen
Summary: Jarah and Dax are entrants in The Game. The day that their year is unwillingly planned around. With Jarah's mother mysteriously going missing and Dax's secrets, can these two keep it together long enough to win? M for future chaps.


She ran through the forest, her heart beating erratically in her chest, her bow and arrow bouncing on her back in unison with her long dark plait.

She could hear them advancing fast behind her and she sped up her pace, glancing around behind her seeing the darkness approaching faster then she could run.

She knew it was no use fighting them; they had weapons that made her mother's bow and arrow look like children's toys. It would be a futile and useless fight with unnecessary bloodshed and that would get her nowhere.

She could see the end. It glowed a strange orange shade and got brighter as she came within reach of it. She was on the wrong side of the fence, the side of ghosts and death and an abyss of darkness that she knew far too well for someone so young.

She pumped her legs faster and faster and the orange semi-circle glowed an almost unearthly burnt gold. As she moved closer she knew it was only a matter of seconds before she would be safe, but she didn't let herself have the small fleeting amount of hope that threatened to rise through her. She didn't trust herself enough and she most certainly didn't trust the creeping darkness that was quickly coming up behind her.

_One last push and we're out. C'mon Jarah…not scared are you?_

Her mind shouted at her and her face contorted determinedly into a scowl as she started to push herself once more, leaping at the orange glow.

She gasped as she felt something drive into her shoulder and then retract, pulling out of her but meaning to take her with it. Her eye squeezed shut and she screamed in pain as she fell onto the green grass with a thud, all the air returning to her deprived lungs.

She lay there for a few more moments, the sunlight beating down on her face in thick and dense rays, warming her instantly.

She was too hot.

Jarah looked down at her shoulder and saw a wound the size of the palm of her hand, burnt and charred. It oozed blood and something she couldn't make out, hey eyes foggy with pain.

It was going to be a long walk home.

It's one of those days that she just couldn't escape as greatly as she wished she could. It's one of those days that her year was unwelcomely planned around, much to her dismay.

It was doomsday, the day of The Game for Jarah Sassaba and there was always a chance that she would be chosen and it would be her turn to fight to the death.

Her shoulder was still sore and oozed a strange black tar-like liquid and her hallucinations were slowly becoming more and more real.

She knew when they were coming. She could feel her brain start to pulse in her skull and her world slowly melt away, her vision became blurry around the edges and her skin crawled unpleasantly.

It was happening this very second.

"Not another one…not now..." She moaned out loud to her empty home.

_Hello…_ It whispered in an eerie whisper. It was the voice of The Darkness, a reoccurring character in her waking nightmares.

She could feel it's thin bony fingers crawl up her back and lay gently on her shoulders; She could feel it as real as if someone were actually standing behind her.

Jarah fought back the urge to shudder violently.

"What do you want? I don't have time for this."

_Well, someone isn't in a good mood. Your certainly not much fun to toy with…but your subconscious, it's like it was made for me to manipulate…don't you think?_

She shuddered for real this time and gulped. "No…" It didn't come out as confident as certain as she meant it to.

If Jarah knew one thing about The Darkness was that it fed on fear. It reminded her of the Dementor's in Harry Potter; except The Darkness was like one giant and huge Dementor which was pretty much undefeatable. It used all of your fears against you and tormented you to it's own delight. It was sick and twisted; it was the memee noir, The Mother of all Darkness.

The Darkness laughed cruelly and she could hear it grin.

_My, my, my! Are you caving to me? Aww, and I thought you were a fighter. You certainly put up a fight against my Shadow Men. _

Jarah smiled as she remembered shooting the men with the bow and arrow, and how powerful and strong she felt. She certainly didn't feel as strong now, and that worried her. As if it could read her mind, the Darkness was right on cue.

_You're slowly being drained of what once stood up to me, and before you know it Death will come and collect you, then give you to me so I can transform you into something to be feared…an Undead One. How does that sound, little one?_

Jarah's head spun and she felt her spine tingle. She was going to pass out soon if she didn't push him away. She had to. She wasn't going to die today.

"I'm not going to die. And I am most certainly not going to die for such a cause. I would never be yours. I refuse to become your puppet. " Her voice was like ice and she could feel it push him a tiny bit away, her vision becoming clearer.

"Get OUT!" She screamed and she started to think about all the good times in her life, all the love and happiness, all the joy and peace she had experience.

This method usually got The Darkness out of her head for a while, she hoped now it would be enough.

"You feel that! That's what you're never going to experience! Now LEAVE ME ALONE!" She pushed all of her good energy at The Darkness as it faded away.

_Goodbye, little one…. for now…_

Jarah fell into a breathless, sweaty heap on the floor and she felt the tear running down her cheeks. Her wound had leaked through the bandages she had and was preceding to soak through her clothes at an alarming rate.

She ran to her small off white kitchen and tore off her white blouse so she stood there bare-chested. She usually would have been embarrassed but the curtains were closed and she was expecting no company, plus she wasn't a largely chesty girl. Jarah was average in the boob department, well… maybe just a little under but that was fine to her.

She unwound the bandage from around her shoulder, and it revealed a nasty site. The hole was healing, but not as fast as she would see as progress.

It was red and raw like a ruffled rose and the black liquid seeped out like dark tainted tears. It was a sad sight to behold. She found some salt and made a small salt-water bath in the sink, dabbing her cloth in and wiping the black away from her pale, creamy skin. She squeezed the wound and a small barb reared its head directly in the middle of the mess. Using the cloth, Jarah had no choice but to pull it out. Jarah bit down on her rolled up shirt to stop her from screaming too loud and pulled out a 5 cm long black barb, which pulsed and oozed black into her hand.

Jarah placed it in the small sink beside the water and tried again to see if anything came out. She found four more equally nasty but smaller ones and it was then that she was sure that this was all.

The pain was so intense she could feel her eyes rolling back into her head with concentration on not screaming at the top of her lungs. She continued to clean it until the cloth came away with nothing and then smeared it with antiseptic cream. It stung but the pain was more welcome then when she had been filled with small barbed wires.

Jarah wrapped it up in new gauze tightly then pulled her shirt up back over her shoulders. She stumbled towards the medication cabinet in the bathroom, finding the nurofen and popping 3 in her mouth.

She swallowed them down and knew the pain wouldn't subside instantly, she just wished it would.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was almost time for her to leave.

_Damn. Can't a girl ever get enough time?_

She quickly washed off her face and pulled her wavy brown hair back from her face, securing with clips but leaving the rest down.

She quickly changed into a flowy white summer dress which fell down her slender figure nicely and reached the floor. It was an off the shoulders number which had loose sleeves that puffed out at her wrists. It covered most of the flesh coloured gauze so she didn't mind.

Jarah slipped on a pair of thigh high dark brown leather boots that were old & comfortable. She put on a slick of mascara around her dark brown eyes and clear lip-gloss on her full lips and grabbed her phone and started to walk to the town centre.

There was no use taking her car. If she got chosen there was no going back home.

It killed her to leave her mothers bow and arrow there but there was no chance in hell that she would let these horrible people take it from her. It was all she had of her mother.

Jarah was busy focusing the pain in her shoulder to an outside source when she heard her name being called.

It was Dax, Her lifelong friend and neighbour. Dax was a handsome young boy whose talent for trouble had gotten them in more then they could handle many times, but she knew he always meant well.

His skin was his usual sun tanned glow from working in the fields all day, his hair a sun bleached brown and eyes as green at the pine forest's that surrounded their home.

"Jarah! Hey! Wait up."

Jarah paused her step and sighed, waiting for Dax to catch up.

He jogged up beside her and smiled her favourite smile at her. He was dressed in jeans, a v-neck white t-shirt and a brown leather jacket. Around his neck was a long gold chain with a piece of amber on the end from one of the pine trees in his backyard. His father had made it to remind him of home when he was little, Jarah couldn't picture him without it.

"Hey Dax." She smiled at him and ran her hand through her hair. He was looking good today, her heart spluttered erratically as he smiled crookedly at her.

_What's wrong with me? Pull yourself together, jeez._

"You headed to the town centre? I am. I really hope I don't get in; Mum needs me more then ever at the moment." His brow furrowed and he absently played with the amber on his necklace, deep in thought.

His father had recently died and had left Dax in charge of being the man in the family. He was the provider and he did a good job at it to, but he definitely couldn't afford to be away and possibly be killed.

She wrapped her good arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. They had always been comfortable physically, this was just mere affection and showed the respect they had for each other.

He hugged Jarah back and she could feel herself smiling. She mentally slapped herself for being so caught up in her emotions.

"You're quiet Rah, What's wrong? Normally I can't shut you up." She smiled for real this time at his use of her child nickname; he hadn't used that one in a while.

"I went over the fence…and I got shot at. It went into my shoulder and pulled out. I'm fine though, just hurts." She bit her lip as the truth spilled from her. He was not going to be impressed with her carelessness.

He pulled away sharply and stopped walking, looking at her incredulously.

"Do you have a death wish? Why did you do that, Jarah? You could have gotten yourself killed!" His large hands tugged at his hair, then ran over his face in a vague attempt at controlling his anger.

"I was looking for m-" she started quietly. Jarah hated making him upset, it was the worst kind of torture.

"I know what you were looking for." He snapped, "But I thought you promised me you wouldn't go looking for it again. You know there is no way to bring it back once it's gone Jarah. You need to accept that."

"I know. I wasn't thinking. But I think some of it is in me…. I've been hallucinating. I can hear it, in my head…I can feel it's spiny fingers crawl up my spine like it's counting the cuts of meat..." She knew she had to tell him at some point, he would have already noticed if he had been around more. But she wasn't going to bring that up, that was a low-ball shot.

Jarah shuddered and started walking again towards town with more purpose in her step. They were going to be late.

She heard him jog up beside her and she kept a blank gaze on the approaching water fountain in the middle of the centre.

The stage had been set up in front of it and people of all ages were starting to form crowd in front of it.

Every year, one of the major cities around the World hold's The Game and two representatives from each city were chosen. Once you were 12 your name went into the draw and then it was just luck if you were chosen or not.

One year, when Jarah was 9, her teacher was chosen to go in. She had the ability to forfeit because of her money status. The more money you had, the bigger chance that you could buy yourself out. She tried, but failed and they never saw her again.

The Game Leaders just said that she retired to a different town, but everyone knew better.

She was dead.

The Leaders didn't tolerate well with people who were individuals, if you were part of the herd, and then you were exactly what they were looking for. If you, like Jarah, believed in justice, then your chance of over throwing them was bigger and you were a threat.

All the Leaders and the Winner's of The Game lived in what was once New York City. It was now called Game City and was the most luxurious place to live. It was by far the most technologically advanced and the most up to date.

Dax's voice broke through her mental musings.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I just worry about you; you know that. Once this is over we will go and see the Healer, Okay? She might be able to help." His green eyes glowed with concern.

Jarah nodded and the pain in her shoulder stung. She hissed and gritted her teeth. "Let's get this over with then." She spoke through her clenched jaw.

The run down skyscrapers shot up around them and blocked out any sun. It made her uncomfortable.

They passed Old Joe, a two-toothed beggar with rotten clothes who had a liking for strong liquor. He had been through the Games but came second. They tortured him and then dumped him back here. His mind had been scrambled since.

He smiled at the two and took off his hat in respect, bowing.

Dax and Jarah's families were held in higher regard due to their father's statuses in the Parliament. Though Dax's father was now dead, he and his family still held rank as being one of the original gatherer's of The Game. His family had helped invent it; Aristocracy at it's highest.

They both nodded back, acknowledging Old Joe, and continued on towards the stage. They didn't easily mixed into the crowd of dirty and poor people. They were both clean, and had money. Most people in Forbourne didn't.

People moved out of the way for them, letting them go straight to the front of the crowd where Mayor Rubicon. His mouth, always set in a twisted sneer, smiled at them with obvious hatred.

Jarah glared at the man with as much hatred as she could muster but smiled. It must have looked more like a sneer but she didn't care.

People were watching.

Dax was busy writing their names on pieces of paper and didn't notice the silent exchange.

She made her way to stand by a rigid Dax. He was now watching Mayor Rubicon and looked like he was restraining himself from saying something that would likely get himself killed.

Jarah placed her hand on his arm and she felt his tense muscles relax. They couldn't afford to create a scene in front of all these peoples.

"Dax. Cool it, it's not worth it." She tugged his arm gently and they went and stood near the corner of the stage with other politicians and their families. She saw her Father and her little baby brother. He smiled at her, all gums and no teeth. She smiled at him and held her arms out, "Hey little man. How are you? Hey Dad."

Flynn held out his chubby baby arms and clapped as she scooped him and dotted his blonde wispy curls with kisses. Flynn's hazel eyes smiled happily at her. She felt her father's arms around her shoulders. Her father placed a kiss on her forehead and gave her a worried smile, his hazel eyes creasing at the corners.

"Hi sweetie. Hello Dax." The men shook hands and then Dax turned around behind him, talking to his mother happily.

Her father was wearing his Ancestral Robes. They were red, black and orange stripes with black and gold stitching. Around the back of the hood, which was all red, was a design in gold, seven lines all swirling into a golden orb in the centre. That was the Mark of the Sassaba family. She could see his black shirt and pants underneath.

She looked like her mother, her brother looked like her father. The only thing she inherited from him was her wavy, brown hair and a stubborn cowlick. She had been told she had the body of a ballerina. She was petit and small, her muscles long and sinewy, but hard as rock.

Her father was a good-looking man, very angular but distinguished features, tall, muscled frame and his brown hair was short and styled with gel so it was spiky. He had tanned skin like Dax and straight, white teeth.

Jarah absently fingered the necklace she had on with the same golden design. The whole town square was tense, it was rolling off people, but there was also a sense of being united, and that made her feel strong.

Jarah heard Dax and her father talking about Mayor Rubicon and she tuned in.

"Apparently the townsfolk are planning to overthrow his power if they don't start getting paid more. People can't live in these conditions. We're treated like slaves and what's worse is that Game City doesn't know anything about it because every time they try to warn them Rubicon cover's their moves." Dax whispered.

He was currently undergoing training to take his fathers place. But since he was still underage, he wouldn't be a family representative until he turned 19. But that was only a year away. Today, his Mother was wearing his father's blue, green and red plaid robe. The all kingfisher blue hood had a black design of 189 squares connecting in the centre, the number of generations since the Games started.

Her father hummed in response. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised. It's even hard for us as the political Leaders and as Ancestral Carriers like you to survive. It's not like we can all just go and live somewhere else, we couldn't survive in Oceania or The Wetlands. We are forest dwellers, it's our calling."

Jarah butted into the conversation, her brother making bubble sounds in her arms. She shifted him to her hip.

"Dad. How can you think like that? What if Dax or I got chosen for a Game? They can be placed in any city; anywhere and it can be in whatever environment they like. You don't have a choice but to survive when you're there. You have to learn to cope with different environments; we can't just be static in our ways. That's what got us in this mess in the first place." She shook her head at his narrow-minded ways and turned her attention to the stage where the Mayor's helper was approaching the microphone.

She felt Dax come up beside her and she immediately relaxed into his side.

Jarah turned around and handed her brother back to her gobsmacked father and relaxed back into Dax. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She could tell he was afraid; he didn't want to get in as much as she didn't.

No one here did.

She looked up at his worried green eyes. "Hey. It's going to be okay."

"I hope your right because I have a bad feeling about this."

Jarah's stomach sunk. Dax had an unusual knack of being able to pick when things were going to turn out with a good or bad result.

He was almost never wrong.

"Me too, Dax…Me too." She pressed herself closer to him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. May I have your attention please?" The quiet buzz of people talking cut off and everyone was silent.

"Now. Please Welcome, Mayor Rubicon and Emperor Lymzo to the stage!" The two men dressed in all gold robes, jewels sparkling, got off their chairs and stood at the microphones, smiling wildly, their carefully parted and styled greying hair gleaming in the sunlight until it was almost silver.

"Welcome to the 189th Game. It is an absolute pleasure to see each and every one of you. Emperor Lymzo now has a few things to announce before we draw names." Mayor Rubicon's blue eyes flashed around to the man next to him, adoration clear on his face. But you could see in his eyes jealousy was eating him alive.

Emperor Lymzo smiled at Rubicon and pented his long pale fingers. His silver eyes glanced around the crowd but eventually settled on where I was standing. I wasn't sure if he was looking at me so I turned around to see my father who was as confused as I was. Dax's arm tightened around me. When I looked back up it was clear I was the object of his current situation.

I just kept staring back at him until he cleared his throat, starting to speak again.

"Welcome everyone. We hope this year will be as successful as the rest. This year, we have been assured, that the winner and the runner up will **both** be placed in Games City from now on. It has been decided that the way we did things in the past is slightly archaic. We want the best for our people an-"

"Then pay us more, you fiends!" A man with his young family around him yelled. You could tell he was scared but he was determined. His eyes met Jarah's and she nodded at him in respect.

Lymzo turned to face him with curiosity on his face. He spoke directly to the man. "You, Young Man. Speak your mind. I am curious." He pointed with his fingers as he spoke.

The man stepped away from his family and gulped, his hands grasping at his jackets.

"We work like slaves for more then 8 hours a day then get miserable amounts of pay, while some get no pay at all. We are known for producing the best timber in all the country, we should get paid like people acknowledge it. We should not get brushed aside just because we don't make up numbers. Everyone has a voice that needs to be heard. Forbourne is in a state of disrepair. It desperately needs to be updated, to be cleaned, so we can be prouder to be a representative of this once great City. Especially since we have Ancestral linkage in this city, Sir."

Some people cheered, hooted and clapped in agreement. Jarah just smiled, Dax had his mouth set in a hard line of agreement.

"What is your name, young man?" Lymzo smiled at the man. He seemed impressed.

"Lougi Rob, Sir. This is my family." He gathered his wife and his little boy and girl next to him. His wife looked terrified but proud.

"Well, Mr. Rob, you have just clearly explained a problem here that is about to be fixed. We have realised that we have left your city in negligence for far too long and for that we are deeply sorry. Your city is about to have a multi-million dollar update. You will have new housing for people who cannot afford to work in the timber yard and logging services. Healers, your care centres shall be updated to state of the art technology. Your garbage, food, sewerage and water shall be kept as a top priority and, last but not least, your pay shall be raised to $150 an hour in all job professions." He clapped his hands together and the stunned silence erupted into roars of joy and happiness. People were hugging and some were even crying.

Jarah looked up at Dax and he was watching his mother who was praying and smiling, kissing her children. He was grinning, a tear in his eye.

"Now, we have to move to the most pressing issue of them all! The Game! As you can see beside me, my colleague has set up the two name barrels full of men and women who could be possibly winners of this prestigious event! Mayor Rubicon? Would you be so kind as to do the honours?" He smiled and bowed at the man, his hand sweeping out in front of him as he moved over to the side to Rubicon could move the barrel further towards the front of the stage.

He started to spin the barrel, it going round and round in circles. Then he pressed the red button on the side and it stopped suddenly, it's top opening to allow him to put his hand inside.

Rubicon smiled and put his hand inside the Male barrel. Jarah gripped Dax's hand tighter and he in return back. Jarah inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She needed Dax; he couldn't leave.

Rubicon pulled out a piece of paper, reading it and then clearing his throat.

"The Men's Champion is, Dax Arvid. Dax? Could you please come forward to take your place?" He smiled serenely.

Jarah felt Dax go rigid next to her. He looked down at her, an emotion she couldn't read plastered on his face, and then it disappeared. He reached out his hand and swept the back of it down her cheek, a caress. He put on his professional face and turned around to kiss his mother. She wept loudly and sobbed into a handkerchief. Jarah stood by herself, everyone giving Dax a wide berth of space.

Surrounded by hundreds of people, she had never felt more alone.

"I'll be home soon, I promise." She overheard him whisper to his mother from her teary embrace.

He broke away and walked straight pass Jarah, ignoring her shocked figure and walking up the stage to shake the Mayor's out stretched hand and then bowing deeply to Emperor Lymzo.

The men smiled at Dax but not once did he smile back. She wished she could just ask him why he looked at her like that, why he touched her cheek like that.

Emperor Lymzo then walked over to the Women's barrel and let it spin a few times before pressing the button and diving his hand into the piles of paper at the bottom.

His smug smile stopped suddenly and he then he composed himself, smiling and laughing, pretending to be suspenseful.

"The Woman's Champion is," He stopped and let the tension build; it was so thick you could have cut through it with a knife.

"Jarah Sassaba. Jarah? Could you please come up the stage to take your place next to our Male Champion?" Her heart skipped a beat, relief flooding through her veins at the fact she would be with Dax, but fear that she was leaving behind a family that desperately needed her. Plus, she wasn't sure how having The Darkness living inside her head would help her.

She turned around and quickly kissed her father who was lost for words, yet again. Jarah almost broke down when she saw Flynn's wide hazel eyes echoing the terror everyone was feeling outside.

She walked over to him and placed a million little kisses on his head and hugged her father tightly; she wouldn't break down now.

_Be strong, _She told herself, _burst into tears now and you will never forgive yourself._

Jarah let got of her father's warm body and her brother, giving him one last kiss and whispering to them both "I'll be home before you know it. I love you both."

Her father's careful composure broke down and tears ran freely down his well-aged face. He gripped the small, whimpering boy tighter and smiled at his daughter.

"You're mother would have loved to see what a beautiful young woman you have become, Rah. Do her proud."

Jarah smiled and felt a surge of determination. She lifted the edges of her white dress off the ground and made her way to the stage, shaking hands and bowing then taking her place next to a relieved looking Dax.

"Well! Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have our two Champions! Dax and Jarah are quite in their rights to leave if they wish…" He trailed off, giving us the opportunity to speak. They looked at each other and Jarah knew at that point that there was no turning back now.

"Very well then! The two champions shall now make their way to the trains to begin their journey to The Training Arena! Then after a week of the most intense training of your life, we shall take them to The Games Arena and the fun shall begin! Thankyou for being such an amazing crowd! If you have anymore questions about the money and renovations of your city, please write a letter to my dear friend, Mayor Rubicon, and a meeting shall be organised! Thankyou, and Goodnight."

Lymzo stepped off the stage and was immediately ushered into a sleek black car, its windows tinted black so nothing inside could be seen.

Jarah and Dax walked behind a group of men in black suits, dark sunglasses and earpieces. No one spoke to them and the sense of danger ran like a ripple through the crowd. No one knew it yet, but this game would be one they would never forget.

Never.


End file.
